An animated dark tower series would be pretty awesome. Although it would take some of the gravitas away from each individual book. And you'd need at least 3 hours just for book 7. A lot of stuff happens in that book. If it were an hour long show on premium cable, it could break down like this-

Episode 1- the entire gunslinger book. The Tull events could be shortened a bit, and the focus could be more on meeting jake, and pursuing walter.

Episode 2- drawing eddie

Espisode 3- drawing odetta be the rest of book 2

Episode 4- finding the beam/shardik

Episode 5- drawing jake, headed to lud.

Episode 6-lud and Blaine the mono

Episode 7-9 wolves of the calla. They could cut out wizard and glass, and do that stuff in season 2

Episodes 10-11 song of susannah

Episode 12 algul siento

Episode 13 saving the author/ Roland in the keystone world

Episodes 14 up through dandelo

Episode 15- big finale.

I think most premium cable shows run 10-15 eps per season. Needless to say, a 15 hour epic animated series would be a huge undertaking.

In a whopping deal coming together quickly, Stephen King, Imagine Entertainment and Weed Road are in discussions to make a screen trilogy and TV series out of King's epic novel series The Dark Tower. Akiva Goldsman will write the script, Ron Howard will direct it, and his Imagine Entertainment partner Brian Grazer will produce with Goldsman and King.

Universal is in talks to acquire a package that included the books, and the attachment of the team behind the Oscar-winning film A Beautiful Mind and The Da Vinci Code. Both Universal –where Imagine is based—and Warner Bros—where Goldsman’s Weed Road banner is housed—have been vying for the project.

The Dark Tower is King’s answer to JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, and the author will get his own screen trilogy. Like Tolkien, King's epic novel series is set in an otherworldly but familiar world, and involves a quest to save the world. The series spanned seven novels that involved Roland Deschain, the last living member of a knightly order of gunslingers who exists in a world that has an Old West feel, but which is infused with magic. He is on a quest to find the Dark Tower, a structure that holds the key to the nexus of all universes. He encounters many allies and enemies along the way, as the world crumbles around him.

The book series was once developed by JJ Abrams and his Lost cohorts Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, but they never cracked it. Goldsman, who has become a prolific producer, was the catalyst for securing the rights from King, and he brought it to Howard and Grazer. It was not immediately evident how large the transaction was, but King has often optioned his works for little or no money upfront, and reportedly he bestowed the rights on Abrams for $19, a number which has significance in the novel series. King is working on an eighth novel, one that doesn't change the ending, but deals with characters and a storyline that falls midway in the series. CAA is working on the deal.

still trying out how they're going to tell this story in 3 movies. you'd have to have the first movie go up to the calla, i guess... maybe have the first half of the first movie be about the drawings and then the second going through lud, blaine, and topeka. the 2nd movie is wolves of the calla ans song of susannah, and the 3rd is dark tower. that could work, i guess, if you cut out all the flashbacks(not only the mejis stuff in book 4, but the entire tull sequence in book 1)... still a lot of story to cram in 3 movies, even if you do the 3.5 hr lord of the rings type movies.

Universal Pictures and NBC Universal Television Entertainment have closed a deal to turn Stephen King’s mammoth novel series The Dark Tower into a feature film trilogy and a network TV series, both of which will be creatively steered by the Oscar-winning team behind A Beautiful Mind and The Da Vinci Code.

Ron Howard has committed to direct the initial feature film, as well as the first season of the TV series that will follow in close proximity. Akiva Goldsman will write the film, and the first season of the TV series. Howard’s Imagine Entertainment partner Brian Grazer will produce, with Goldsman and the author.

Universal Pictures and NBC Universal Television Entertainment have closed a deal to turn Stephen King’s mammoth novel series The Dark Tower into a feature film trilogy and a network TV series, both of which will be creatively steered by the Oscar-winning team behind A Beautiful Mind and The Da Vinci Code.

Ron Howard has committed to direct the initial feature film, as well as the first season of the TV series that will follow in close proximity. Akiva Goldsman will write the film, and the first season of the TV series. Howard’s Imagine Entertainment partner Brian Grazer will produce, with Goldsman and the author.

According to Deadline, the format of the adaptation, which follows a knightly gunslinger’s quest to find the Dark Tower in order to save humanity, will unfold as follows: It will kick off with a theatrical feature, followed then by a season of TV episodes. That season will transition into the second feature film. Once released, a second season of TV episodes will once again follow up that film, this time putting its focus on the lead character, Deschain, as “a young gunslinger” (the story behind which will be informed by Stephen King’s prequel comic books). Lastly, a final film will round out the series, returning to the aged Deschain as he completes his journey.

Is it weird that i was thinking kevin bacon for roland? I think that would be a very interesting casting choice. He's done the whole axe crazy guns a'blazin' bad ass in death sentence. i think he could pull it off.

Spoiler:

plus, his 'footloose' days might come in handy if they do the commala scene from Wolves...

edit... i forgot i already posted that on the same page... pretty embarassing, but in my defense, it was months ago

Last edited by Froggy on Wed Sep 08, 2010 7:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I've always wanted to read the series but just haven't gotten around to it. I guess the real question is what version of Akiva Goldsman shows up to write the screenplays. Is it the Cinderella Man/A Beautiful Mind version, or the Batman and Robin/I Am Legend/Angels & Demons version. That will be the biggest factor in the quality of the series.

I love this idea for the most part. Not entirely sure about the comic book part. I mean, there is a LOT of material in the books already. Do they really need to include more? I just hope we don't see a bunch of stuff from the books get cut out.

As for who will play Roland... I always pictured Roland as OLD. I thought Clint Eastwood in the early 1980s would have been a perfect Roland. I think Bacon or Viggo are too young. They just don't have that weathered, been around forever kind of look that I thought Roland had in the books. Or maybe I just pictured him wrong.

Hockeynut! wrote:I love this idea for the most part. Not entirely sure about the comic book part. I mean, there is a LOT of material in the books already. Do they really need to include more? I just hope we don't see a bunch of stuff from the books get cut out.

this is what scares me a little. Theres 7 books. the plan is 3 movies and 2 seasons of tv. That means squeezing 3 books (and a comic) into 1 feature somewhere. Being on NBC, you know they are going to have to tone down a lot of the stuff too. I know there is a big fanbase for the Dark Tower, but they need to hit a homerun with this thing really early so it doesn't hurt the chances of it getting finished. I'm excited that something it finally happening, but I'd prefer it to be done right.

This could work if done right. It puts things a tad out of order (putting the Wizard and Glass flashback after Wolves), but that does not mess with the story line.

Spoiler:

I assume King will play himself in the film but it would require a lot of makeup to make him look like he's 30 years old again.

you just listed my biggest problem with this concept. The first movie being the first 2 books, and the Waste Lands being on TV. IMO, Waste Lands is the best book of the 7, and I would really hate to see a watered down version of it on TV. Now, if it works out where it is a good thing that they are able to take the extra time from a TV series to really capture the minor details, that would be great. But i think it would lose the epicness that a full movie would have.

Froggy wrote:you just listed my biggest problem with this concept. The first movie being the first 2 books, and the Waste Lands being on TV. IMO, Waste Lands is the best book of the 7, and I would really hate to see a watered down version of it on TV. Now, if it works out where it is a good thing that they are able to take the extra time from a TV series to really capture the minor details, that would be great. But i think it would lose the epicness that a full movie would have.

I agree with you. Besides the 1st book, Waste Lands is also my fave. I'd love for the Waste Lands to get an entire season on tv (If it was HBO or AMC), I'm not really sold on NBC though...

A couple other problems I see:

they are probably going to go for a PG13 rating to get more of an audience

you would think they would want a name actor to carry this thing, is a big name actor going to settle for 2 season of tv?